Tis The Season
by Chibi Cheesecake
Summary: It’s New Year’s Eve, and Cloud can’t get into the spirit of things. Luckily, he has friends in high places. My fourth annual holiday fic based off of A Christmas Carol! Set some months after AC. Now completed!
1. Chapter 1

**'Tis The Season**

**Disclaimer: **Cloud and co. belong to Squeenix and Nomura and all those cool dudes, not me. A Christmas Carol is owned by, um, Charles Dickens?

**Notes: **Yes, I do realize this is an all-around silly sort of story idea. While it's not a parody, and it's a bit angsty at times, I do hope you have fun reading it. I definitely had fun writing it.

I will confess I'm a bit nervous about posting this, just because I've never attempted anything this long for the FF7 fandom. I'm finding that these are some of the most difficult characters I've ever had to write for, lol. Oh, a quick note - the website Final Fantasy VII Citadel has a game timeline that puts forth the idea that Gaia uses the same calendar system as on Earth, based on all the inscriptions you see on Jenova's helmet. While this isn't necessarily canon, obviously, I found that using that idea would be really useful in writing this, so that's what I did. Sorry if it bothers you too much.

"_I have endeavored in this Ghostly little book, to raise the Ghost of an Idea, which shall not put my readers out of humor with themselves, with each other, with the season, or with me." – Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol_

* * *

Every winter, the world of Gaia celebrated the turning of a new year.

The holiday had been celebrated for thousands of years, but it wasn't until the ShinRa Corporation came into existence and changed the planet that New Year's became much more commercialized. People began to buy their friends and family gifts to exchange. So for a while, the holiday's true meaning was forgotten in the haze of the corporate world.

ShinRa's collapse almost three years ago, of course, had left the people of Gaia with a renewed appreciation for their planet. Except they still gave each other gifts, because who doesn't like receiving presents?

New Year's Day was, also, the anniversary of the defeat of Jenova at what would become known as Northern Crater, two thousand years ago. So New Year's on Gaia had even more of a meaning of rebirth and renewal than New Year's on, say, Earth. Although, both worlds did view the occasion as an excuse to get spectacularly drunk.

And it was this fact that started Cloud's whole ordeal.

See, this particular year, Cloud Strife was simply not in the spirit of things. Maybe it was the stretch of rainy days they had been having, maybe it was people acting rushed and rude (though, it wasn't as though Cloud had ever been the poster child of politeness, either), maybe it was a simple case of the holiday blues. Whatever the reason, Cloud was being stubborn and gloomy, and Tifa had no idea what to do about it.

The day before New Year's Eve, Cloud was sitting at Seventh Heaven's bar, looking over some delivery invoices, when there was a knock at the door. Tifa was getting ready to open the bar for the night and so she sent Cloud to see whom it was. Two frail-looking gentlemen were standing at the door; they were going around taking donations for some charitable organization to help the poor and homeless.

"How much can I put you down for?" asked one man, as his partner eagerly held his pen and notebook at the ready.

"Nothing," Cloud had sighed.

"So you want to remain anonymous?" the man said, his tone annoyingly cheery.

"No, I want to be left alone," Cloud snapped, slamming the door in their faces.

Tifa had appeared behind them then, more shocked than angry. "What's gotten into you, Cloud?" she demanded. She sent him out to make some deliveries shortly after that, before she lost her temper and said things she'd regret later.

This whole month he'd been taking care of some long-distance deliveries; the holidays brought in more money and stranger pieces of cargo. Just a few weeks ago, Cloud had delivered a Tonberry skull to a small curio store of questionable legality (the store had gold chocobo feathers for sale, for goodness' sake) outside of Wutai's capital.

The afternoon of New Year's Eve found him on one such delivery. Tifa had been leaving almost endless messages on his cell phone, reminding him to be home in time for the New Year's Eve celebration at Seventh Heaven. All of their old friends would be there. Of course, Seventh Heaven had been picked unanimously as the location for the party, because at Seventh Heaven they knew they could get free liquor from Tifa.

This was precisely the liquor that Tifa had asked Cloud to pick up on his way back to Edge. It was stashed securely in one of Fenrir's many little compartments and he was speeding back to Edge, thoughtful.

He'd picked up his cargo and listened to his voicemail once more before setting off – Tifa had left him another message and her anxious tone was impossible to miss. Cloud did not want to go to this party, but listening to that message, he knew he had no choice; she seemed to think it would be good for him. The only way Tifa would allow him to miss this party was if he were comatose or dead.

It was getting a little late and so Cloud was taking a different route to Edge – south of there Midgar was a series of steep hills that afforded a more direct but more dangerous passage to Edge.

But he had some alcohol to deliver.

He was driving fast but not too fast. He was a little distracted but not too badly. Still, all the factors added up, and he noticed the eighteen-wheel truck in the wrong lane, coming straight toward him, just a half-second too late. The driver of the truck was drunk.

Cloud swerved sharply to the right, straight for the edge of the hill he was driving on. To avoid flying off the edge he braked, hard, causing Fenrir to slide outwards. Cloud was flung off the motorcycle, the wind knocked out of him as he hit the asphalt.

Everything was fuzzy. Maybe he wouldn't have to sit through the noisy New Year's Party after all.

Before everything went completely black, he heard voices.

"_Cloud! Hey, Cloud!"_

"_Cloud, are you ready?" _

'_Ready...? For what?' _

'_...Why can't everyone just leave me alone?' _

* * *

When Cloud opened his eyes, he found himself in a dark and quiet hospital room. He was warm and sleepy and his head ached, and he would've fallen back into a dreamless sleep if he had not seen, out of the corner of his eye, the digital clock on his bedside table.

11:58. Then 11:59.

And automatically Cloud began counting down in his head. _"Fifty-nine, fifty-eight, fifty-seven..."_

'Today is December 31," was scrawled across the top of a whiteboard on the wall. Below that was Cloud's name and bunch of information like his height, weight, age, and some more stuff that he couldn't decipher; the handwriting was too messy. So...it was still New Year's Eve.

"_...Forty-six, forty-five, forty-four..."_

With a pang of guilt Cloud remembered Tifa...

"_...Thirty-two, thirty-one, thirty..."_

Was she worried about him? Had everybody shown up at the party?

"_Twenty-seven, twenty-six, twenty-five..." _

And another thought struck him...Did they even know he was in the hospital?

"_Six, five, four... Three, two, one-"_

But the time on the clock did not change; rather, it seemed as though time had stopped. The silhouette of a tall figure appeared next to Cloud's bedside in a haze of light the same shade of green as the Lifestream.

He blinked and rubbed his eyes but the figure remained. The whole room was bathed in the ethereal green glow, affording enough light for Cloud to make out the unmistakable shoulder-length silver hair and brilliant blue-green eyes.

"Hello, big brother." The person smiled unkindly.

"...Kadaj?" Cloud was absolutely bewildered.

"That's who I was in life. Now we're part of the Lifestream," Kadaj corrected. By 'we', Cloud saw that he also meant Loz and Yazoo, who were standing at the foot of Cloud's bed.

He sat up slowly, looking around. "Wait...does that mean I'm-?"

"No, you're not dead," Kadaj answered, almost impatiently.

"Not physically dead, anyway," Yazoo added.

Cloud looked sharply at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just what it sounds like," Loz said smugly.

"You're running out of time, big brother," Kadaj said sternly.

"Time for _what_?"

In reply, Kadaj stepped forward and leaned towards Cloud. "Time to save yourself."

"That's why we're here," Loz said.

"To warn you," Yazoo finished.

Cloud was dubious. "I'm having trouble believing you're here for my spiritual health, considering all the times you tried to kill me," he said. "Besides, I might've hit my head pretty hard when I crashed... So who's to say you're really ghosts or souls or spirits or whatever you are?"

This time Yazoo stepped forward, putting his hands on Cloud's sheets and leaning forward. "Those shackles should be proof enough," he said darkly, nodding towards Cloud's arms.

He looked down and was rather frightened at the heavy shackles that had suddenly appeared on his wrists. "What the hell is this?"

"Those chains have been with you a long time, Cloud," Kadaj said softly.

"You don't really want to be carrying them around for the rest of your life and your afterlife, do you?" Loz asked.

Cloud looked at all three of them in turn. "I-I don't understand!" he growled, annoyed and maybe even a little afraid.

"Of course you don't." Kadaj's manner was suddenly patronizing. "But it's not our job to make you understand."

"You will be haunted by three spirits –" Yazoo informed him.

"I've had enough haunting for one night," Cloud protested feebly.

"They'll make you understand," Loz added.

They were beginning to fade away, back into the green glow that had brought them there.

"Expect the first ghost at one!" Kadaj exclaimed. Yazoo was smiling dryly.

"Your friends in the Lifestream are good to you, big brother."

Cloud's eyes widened. "Friends-you don't mean-?"

But they were gone, and time started again. The clock changed to midnight.

"_Happy New Year."  
_

* * *

"Cloud? Clooooud, wake up. We don't have all night, you know."

He stirred and slowly opened his eyes; someone had turned on the lamp by his bed and it gave the room a yellowish, warm glow.

Or maybe the warmth was coming from Aerith, who was sitting on the edge of the bed and smiling down at him.

Cloud sat up and stared at her with wide eyes. She just kept smiling. "How have you been, Cloud?"

Cloud just shrugged slightly. He couldn't look away from her face, and he couldn't say her name.

"It's okay, Cloud," she said, resting her hand on his knee. "I understand." As she always had.

Cloud looked around the room, eager for a distraction. Once again, his eyes fell on the digital clock by his bed, and he watched the time change from 1:00 to 1:01.

Cloud looked at Aerith again. "Then you're-?"

"That's right!" she smiled, straightening up and tugging Cloud's hand.

He pulled his hand back. "So...what exactly are you?"

"Hm..." Aerith looked thoughtful. "The ghost of New Years past." She shrugged. "Or something like that."

"The past?"

"Your past, more like. Time's wasting, we need to get a move on!" she said, her hands on her hips. Slowly Cloud got out of bed and gingerly stood up, as if he feared the floor was not strong enough to hold his weight.

"Where are we going?" he asked quietly.

"You'll see when we get there!" Aerith told him impatiently, as she was already heading for the door.

Cloud remained where he was. "So, is this...?" He trailed off, looking at his bare feet and the loose pants and t-shirt he'd been dressed in at the hospital.

Aerith smiled at him and held out her hand. "You're fine, Cloud."

Slowly, he came to her, and his whole countenance was one of nervousness and a little bit of pain. She took his hand and opened the door leading out of the room, and suddenly they were swallowed by something like a black hole.

Cloud couldn't see anything at all; he didn't even know if his eyes were open or closed. The ground seemed to be gone; he was putting one foot in front of other but he met no resistance. He didn't know what was up and what was down.

He tried to speak and couldn't, for a moment. "...Aerith?" he said finally.

"I'm still here, Cloud," she said from somewhere in front of him (at least, he thought it was the front of him), and he held her hand a little tighter.

Then, a tiny pinprick of light appeared in the distance; they walked towards it as it suddenly ballooned in size and enveloped them in it, the light so bright and sudden Cloud had to put up his free hand and shield his eyes.

When the light faded they were standing in the town square of Nibelheim. Cloud's face lit up with recognition immediately, and he let go of Aerith's hand and stepped forward, looking around. This was either a very elaborate dream, or...

He turned back to look at Aerith. "Why are we...?" He trailed off, uncertain as to how to phrase the question.

"We're in the past," she told him matter-of-factly. "Today is New Year's Eve, thirteen years ago."

"So I was...I am...ten years old." Cloud took another few steps forward. "What, am I supposed to go meet myself or something?"

Aerith shook her head. "Silly, haven't you noticed? We're not real here."

Cloud kicked at the snow on the ground, wriggling his bare toes in it. It wasn't cold at all; he imagined this is how it would feel to walk on sugar. "I guess we're not..." he marveled.

"So where shall we go first?" Aerith asked, stepping forward to stand next to Cloud. She sounded almost jubilant over the whole situation. In contrast, Cloud remained silent and just shrugged uncomfortably. And Aerith just sighed to herself; she knew this would probably be hard, but she didn't think it would be quite _this_ hard.

"What are we even doing here?" Cloud asked suddenly, unsettled by the thought of wandering around in his troubled past.

Aerith touched his arm. "Don't worry about that now," she said kindly. "The answers will come in time. So...will you show me around, Cloud? I want to see the places where you grew up." When he seemed reluctant to move Aerith started walking in the hope he'd follow.

He did, albeit resignedly, and she was relieved.

"I feel safe here," Cloud remarked, sounding surprised. "I didn't think I would."

"Silly. Everybody has a safe place to grow up in." Aerith nodded.

"Did you?" Cloud asked somewhat tactlessly, thinking of ShinRa and their relentless desire to get their hands on Aerith.

"Oh, I managed," she said simply, because nothing is a touchy subject when one is dead. "I grew flowers." She smiled at him and was happy when she saw the beginnings of a smile on his face.

They came to stand in front of a one-story whitewashed building. "This is where I went to school," he said. "I hated it here. Definitely never felt safe in this place..."

Suddenly the door flew open and children raced out of it. Cloud could recognize their faces (after all, these had been his classmates), but he could not remember their names. All the kids were cheering and kicking up the snow.

"It's the beginning of winter break. I forgot how exciting that always was," Cloud said, a touch of amusement in his words.

A small group of children, all about ten years old, dashed outside then. Cloud could only stare as he got a good look at all of their faces.

"That's Tristan," he said finally, watching one tall boy with slicked-back brown hair. "Him and Tifa...they were the leaders."

Almost as if on cue, a ten-year-old Tifa walked out of the school. She was walking calmly, trying to be dignified, but it was obvious she was just as excited as all the other children.

"Hey guys, wait up!" Another, much more familiar child came out then, hurriedly throwing his coat on and cramming a hat over his unruly blond hair.

"It's me," Cloud murmured. Behind him, Aerith was saying something about how cute he was as a kid, but he barely heard her. Somehow, he felt as though he were truly ten again..

* * *

Cloud knew the others did not like him, but he hung around with them anyway because there was no one else to hang around with.

He approached the group, Tifa and Tristan at the head.

"Party at Sam's house!" Tristan was saying, throwing his arm around the shoulders of his friend Sam, a wiry boy with sparkling hazel eyes and freckles. Sam was something like Tristan's right-hand man. He followed Tristan like an affectionate puppy, much the same way Cloud followed Tifa.

The group began running down the street, talking in excited shouts about the presents they wanted this year. The happiness they felt was complete and infectious, as the adults around them cracked a smile as they passed. It wasn't to last very long, not for Cloud anyway.

Sam lived a few houses down from Tifa, so they were outside her door when he opened his mouth and the trouble started.

"I want a –" Cloud began, ready to rattle off the list of things he wanted but knew he wouldn't get.

Tristan came to a halt and the group stopped abruptly, stepping on each other's heels. "Whaddya think you're doing?" he demanded, really noticing Cloud for the first time.

Cloud steeled himself for the inevitable conflict. "Comin' to the party with you guys."

"You are not!"

"Are too!

"Are not, 'cause nobody wants you there anyway!"

Cloud was stung when no one came to his defense. Not even Tifa; she just looked at her feet, halfway between annoyance and pity.

"I am too going, 'cause you can't tell me what to do!" Cloud shouted finally, launching himself at Tristan and tackling him to the ground. They fought as most small boys do; with flailing fists and snow being kicked everywhere. The others were shouting encouragements to Tristan.

"What's going on out here?" came the gruff voice above them. Large hands pulled Cloud and Tristan apart. Both immediately stopped struggling when they noticed Tifa's father had been the one to break up the fight.

The boys at school made Cloud angry, but Tifa's dad made him afraid. He wouldn't ever quite be able to forget that time at Mt. Nibel, when Tifa fell and nearly died – and her father shouting himself hoarse at Cloud.

He looked disapprovingly at both boys, but his gaze sharpened when he looked at Cloud. "Tifa, you go inside."

"Yes, Papa!" Tifa said, running into her house and making no effort to hide her eagerness at a chance to escape the situation.

"Cloud?" He looked up, and there was his mother, coming out of their house and walking over to the scene as well. "Were you fighting again, Cloud?" she asked sternly. He nodded awkwardly, as the other boys laughed at his public scolding.

"You boys head on home too," Tifa's dad said, and it was a command rather than a suggestion. They all scowled suddenly.

"Way to go, Cloud," Sam sneered. "You ruined our afternoon."

Cloud glared at Sam's retreating back and stuffed his trembling hands into his pockets. His mother ushered him inside.

"Cloud, what am I going to do with you?" she said, exasperated. "How many times do I have to tell you, it's up to you to be the better man and walk away...I don't have time to deal with this now, Cloud. Up to your room."

Cloud, still scowling, unceremoniously dumped his coat on the floor and stomped upstairs. Once in his room, he shut the door and dragged his desk chair over to the window and flopped into it. Cloud leaned forward and rested his head on his arms, his nose just barely touching the cold glass of the window.

'Nobody wants you there anyway!' 

Cloud sighed and blinked away the tears that stubbornly refused to leave him alone. He decided that the only present he really, really wanted was to be strong.

About half an hour later there was a knock at his bedroom door. "Cloud?" His mother walked in. Cloud didn't bother responding, though he knew she wasn't angry with him anymore. His exiles never lasted very long.

"Oh, Cloud," she sighed, crossing the room and standing behind him, resting her hands on his shoulders. "What am I going to do with you?" she repeated, but this time there was no exasperation in her voice.

"He started it, Mom!" Cloud craned his neck to look up at her, his blue eyes wide and earnest. "He said they didn't want me at their party...How come they don't like me, Mama?"

But then he noticed the lines on her face and her sad eyes and Cloud snapped his head back and looked out the window again. He wished he didn't complain all the time.

"Aw, who cares," he muttered. "Their parties are never any fun, anyway."

"That's the spirit," Mom said a bit sadly, ruffling his hair. "Don't worry about those boys, Cloud. Just because you don't have any friends at school doesn't mean that...Well, all I know is that there are people out there who would love to be friends with you. You just haven't met them yet."

"Yeah..."

"Come on, Cloud, the two of us will have a fun winter break, I promise. I'm a pretty cool mom, aren't I?"

He gave a long-suffering sigh but he was grinning as he looked up at her. "Mo-o-om..."

Smiling, she bent to kiss his forehead. "That's my name, don't wear it out."

She straightened up and put her hands on her hips. "Alright, I've got a deal for you – you help me make New Year's dinner and –"

"With mashed potatoes?"

"Why, of course. As I was saying, you help with dinner and I'll see if I can scrounge up a present or two..."

"I get presents!?" he shouted, scrambling to his feet and nearly knocking over his chair in the process. "So I'm not in trouble anymore?"

"Of course not, Cloud," she said, putting her arms around him in a protective hug. "Don't forget, the New Year means we all get a chance to start over and be forgiven. ...And that was your life lesson of the day. Now come on, I'm starving!"

Smiling, they both hurried downstairs, leaving the two unseen figures standing in Cloud's bedroom_  
_

* * *

Aerith was sitting on the edge of Cloud's old bed, thinking the whole scene had been very bittersweet.

"I forgot that she did so much for me," Cloud said quietly. They were both silent for a moment.

"There's another New Year's we need to see," Aerith spoke up.

"Why?" Cloud turned to face her, and when he did she saw the pain visible on his face. "All of them were pretty much the same."

"Even after you left Nibelheim?" she asked, and before he could respond the shapes and colors of the bedroom began to melt away and rearrange themselves.

Cloud and Aerith were standing in the back of a large multipurpose room, decorated for a banquet of some sort. Once again, Cloud looked around in awed recognition, but this place obviously made him nervous, unlike Nibelheim.

"This is the SOLDIER headquarters. We're in Midgar," he said, mostly to himself rather than to Aerith. She nodded anyway.

President Shinra was standing on a platform at the front of the room, giving a speech. Though Cloud knew he and Aerith couldn't be seen or heard, he spoke in hushed tones anyway. "It's the annual New Year's party they'd throw for us. The president would make a speech, and people would get promoted to 1st Class... And then everybody would get drunk and haze the new recruits of the year. That's one reason I'm glad I never really made it in."

Cloud looked around and his next words were hopeless and sad: "I recognize their faces, but I don't remember the names of anyone here, Aerith."

"But you remember them, don't you?" Aerith asked, pointing at the 1st Class soldiers sitting behind the president. He looked and realized who she meant – Zack and Sephiroth, sitting side-by-side and looking tremendously bored.

The president was talking about the accomplishments of 1st Class, and from behind Cloud and Aerith someone murmured, "I'd give anything to be that powerful."

Cloud turned to identify a red-haired young SOLDIER as the one who had just spoken, and his fourteen-year-old self, nodding in agreement. Cloud found himself nodding along with his younger counterpart, and once again he felt as though he were being sucked into the past.

* * *

Being so far in the back, Cloud could hardly see or hear anything and he was finding it hard to keep from dozing off, let alone pay attention. 

The speech was finally over, much to his relief, and he was hoping this was his chance to get away from the party. Unluckily, Cloud was attempting to surreptitiously leave when he bumped into a 2nd Class officer by the name of Harles, and Harles just so happened to be the officer in charge of training Cloud's group.

Harles turned from the man he'd been talking to. "Ah, Cloud, nice to see you here!" he said boisterously, wine glass firmly in hand.

Cloud sighed inwardly; well, it was worth a shot... "Sir, I'd like permission to leave early."

"Whatever for?" Harles asked, raising an eyebrow and looking at Cloud as though he'd grown another head.

"So I can...practice some more," Cloud said uncomfortably. "You said my form needed work..."

"Nonsense, boy, you have a whole 'nother year to train!" Harles laughed uproariously. "This is a party, you're supposed to be having fun! Which reminds me... Cloud, have you met Zack?" He turned back to the man he'd been talking with before Cloud came over, and Cloud looked at the man, young and well-built with black hair.

"He'll be taking over the training of your group," Harles explained. "1st Class fighter, but he's much too soft to be giving orders yet!" Once again, he laughed uproariously. Zack chuckled appreciatively, and Cloud just blinked.

"I'll leave you two to get acquainted!" Harles said, before finally ambling off. Cloud looked after him uncomfortably, then looked back at the soldier named Zack.

Nothing about Zack looked soft, that was Cloud's first impression. But then he grinned, almost mockingly. Cloud was surprised, though, to realize there was no real maliciousness in Zack's face at all. And Cloud would know; he was experienced when it came to being made fun of.

"I don't see why they think I need to command anything at all," Zack complained lightly, mostly to himself, as he watched Harles disappear into the crowd. "Actually fighting's much more fun."

Cloud suddenly remembered that Zack had been one of the new 1st Class soldiers personally commended by the President.

"So, your name's Cloud?"

"Y-Yessir."

At this, Zack turned to face Cloud and raised an eyebrow. "'Sir'? My name's 'Zack'. 'Sir' kinda makes me feel like I'm fifty. Besides, by the end of the night everybody'll be too drunk for any kind of formality anyway."

"Sorry," Cloud muttered, unsure of what else to say. He was starting to get really irritated with this whole party...

"Harles was right, you do need to lighten up," Zack observed. "C'mon, let's go get something to drink."

"I, uh, can't drink yet," Cloud protested, as Zack grabbed his arm and stared pulling him over to the refreshments.

"Really? How old are you, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I'll be fifteen next month, si-Zack."

Zack stopped abruptly and turned to look at Cloud. His expression darkened. Cloud swallowed, wondering what he'd done wrong. It's not like you had to be a certain age to join SOLDIER... or had he been wrong about that? Were they going to throw him out, now?

"Pretty young," Zack said finally. "You-ah well, it's none of my business. Well, fine. If we can't drink, we'll people-watch instead." He tugged Cloud into a more discreet position, unseen by everyone except Aerith and Cloud, eight years older now.

* * *

Aerith couldn't take her eyes off the two soldiers; Zack had spoken to her many times about their mutual friend, but it wasn't as though she'd ever seen Zack and Cloud together. Zack was pointing to various people in the room and then making some comment to Cloud, who broke into a grin a couple times.

From his spot next to her, Cloud suddenly spoke up. "He talked to me all the time. About people to avoid and who to kiss up to and sometimes he talked about home and sometimes he talked about you. And I tried to hard to get stronger...I tried to just be better, because I wanted to have something worthwhile to say to him."

"Cloud..."

"I've never understood it," Cloud said quietly. "Why did he die to protect me?"

Aerith smiled despite herself. "He told me once it was because you had a girl waiting for you back home. And because he knew you were going to be a damn good fighter."

Cloud looked over at her with a quizzical expression, because Aerith was probably the last person he'd expect to swear. She shrugged in reply. "His words, not mine."

"Besides," she continued, "you were friends, right? You would've done the same for Zack."

Cloud turned away, and nodded slightly. "I don't understand why you're showing me all this," he said. "I thought I wasn't supposed to live in the past. Isn't that what you showed me, back when Sephiroth appeared again?"

"You can't live in the past," she answered, "but you can't ignore it, either. There's a balance between the two."

"And I'm supposed to figure it out."

"That's right. Cloud, there's one more New Year's Eve we need to see." Her tone was hesitant, almost nervous even, and Cloud turned to face her again.

"It was about half a year before we all met each other," Aerith continued, not meeting Cloud's gaze. "You were...alone, that New Year's Eve."

Cloud felt cold settle in his stomach. "Do you mean, after Zack died, when I..." Aerith didn't say anything.

He swallowed and shook his head. "I don't want to see that...Aerith, please..."

"I'm sorry, Cloud, it's not up to you or me." She had barely finished speaking when the warm glow of the banquet hall faded into the cold fluorescent streetlights of the slums of Midgar.

They were standing in the Sector 7 train station, and they quickly spotted the familiar shock of blond hair. This Cloud of three years ago was sitting slumped against a large pillar, his head bowed.

Janitors were walking about, sweeping the floors and picking up trash. "This one alive?" one of them asked, poking at Cloud's leg with the stick of his broom. His partner walked over and knelt in front of Cloud.

"Hellooo?" The man shook Cloud by the shoulder. "Yeah, he's alive. Still blinking, still breathin'."

"He won't be for long, not when it's this cold," the first janitor remarked, shrugging his shoulders, as the two men walked away.

No one else paid the catatonic Cloud any mind, except for a skinny, poorly dressed man who knelt down and draped a worn coat in Cloud's lap. "Happy New Year, buddy," he said, pity clear in his voice, and continued on his way.

"I couldn't move," the real Cloud said suddenly. "I was in shock, I guess. I just couldn't...make sense of everything, so I started to forget. But I remember, I heard a voice telling me not to go to sleep, because if I did I would probably freeze to death... That was my voice, wasn't it? The real me..."

Aerith touched his arm, but he pulled away. For once, she did not know what to do. She had known facing his past would hurt him; but they'd kind of been counting on that. If the things they showed him were not upsetting enough he wouldn't listen and he'd learn nothing; but if the things they showed him were too distressing, he'd close himself off and, once again, learn nothing. Aerith sighed; it was rather delicate, this plan she and Zack had cooked up...

"When I finally got my memories back," Cloud continued, "it was so hard to talk to my friends, because I realized that they didn't really know me at all..."

Well, at least he was still talking to her. That was a good sign. "They wanted to know you, Cloud," she said earnestly. "They still do!"

Cloud was staring unblinkingly ahead, his hands clenched at his sides. Aerith recognized all the hallmarks of one who is trying not to cry.

For Cloud could hardly bear to watch this pathetic, empty version of himself. This Cloud had been nothing but a loathsome puppet that took and took and took – took Zack's identity, took Cloud's sanity, took Aerith's life.

The self-loathing bubbled in his stomach and made him feel sick. Cloud sank to the curb, resting his elbows on his knees and burying his face in his hands. Aerith crouched next to him, putting her arms around him and leaning her head against his shoulder. The gesture was so tender Cloud had to shut his eyes.

"I don't want to see anymore," he whispered helplessly.

"I know," Aerith whispered back. "We're done here, Cloud." No sooner had she finished speaking than she faded away, and Cloud was left alone in the darkness of his hospital room

* * *

A/N: Lol, Zack kinda took the role of Scrooge's lost girlfriend. I'm not really sure how that happened. Cloud's mommy was way too much fun to write, by the way, as was little!Cloud. I just wanted to hug him and squeeze him and give him lots and lots of presents. And friends.

Oh, and because I realize it may have been a bit confusing – the FF7 timeline I mentioned earlier put Zack's death at about December 22nd, so in that last flashback we're seeing the Cloud that has just buried Zack and is taking over his identity. That Cloud's mind was rebooting, so to speak. XD

Anyway, hope you enjoyed part one of the story! The second half will be up sometime tomorrow, Christmas Eve.


	2. Chapter 2

**'Tis The Season – part 2 of 2**

So, we all know Scrooge did not like what he saw in his future. Will Cloud's future be any easier to handle?

...Heck no! XP

**Edit: **Thanks to LuckyLadybug for noticing a continuity error. It's fixed and boy, do I feel kind of stupid now.

* * *

Aerith had left Cloud sitting on his bed, his knees drawn to his chest and his head buried in his arms. And although he had not noticed it, the clock had been set back to a few minutes past midnight. He may have dozed off, he didn't remember; but he remained more or less motionless for an hour. 

His mind was a little hazy with exhaustion, but this did not stop him from suddenly sensing someone else in the room with him.

"You always were a big baby, Cloud."

Cloud looked up and there was Zack, leaning against the wall opposite Cloud and watching him with a teasing smile.

"You're..." Cloud looked at the clock by his bed, once again glancing at it just in time to see the numbers flash to 1:01 a.m. "You're the second ghost?"

"That's right. You didn't think I'd let Aerith have all the fun, did you?"

Cloud just shrugged, reluctantly sitting up and swinging his legs over the side of the bed, wincing at the stiffness in his bones.

Cloud couldn't seem to meet Zack's eyes; Zack figured whatever Cloud had seen in the past had really done a number on him. He folded his arms and waited patiently for Cloud to pull himself together.

As for Cloud, he was trying to remember the last time he and Zack had actually talked. Sure, he could remember snatches of Zack's one-sided conversations from their escape from ShinRa Manor, but actually speaking with him like this...

"Seven years," Cloud said finally. "Has it really been that long?"

"Yeah," Zack said quietly.

"Then...it's good to see you again, Zack."

Zack grinned in relief. "Good to see you too. As much as I'd love to sit around and reminisce about the good old days, we don't exactly have that much time." He straightened up with the same exuberance he'd had when he was alive. "There's no time like the present, or whatever," Zack stated.

"You...haven't really changed a bit, have you?"

Zack shrugged. He strode over to the door leading out of Cloud's room and watched him expectantly. Cloud met his gaze somewhat dubiously.

"Don't worry, there's no black holes outside this time," Zack rolled his eyes. "And I'm not gonna hold your hand, either."

Nodding resolvedly, Cloud got up and followed Zack to the door, who swung it open. An otherworldly gust of wind passed over them, and Cloud saw that they were standing in a hospital hallway. There were a few nurses standing nearby and chatting, unaware of Cloud and Zack.

"This is...kind of normal," Cloud remarked.

"Not what you were expecting, is it?" Zack grinned, heading down the hallway and motioning for Cloud to follow.

"No, not really. So...when are we?"

"Eleven o'clock on New Year's Eve," Zack answered, as the sterile white walls around them began to melt away. "Two hours ago."

When their surroundings came into focus once more, Cloud saw they were standing right outside a very familiar bar.

"That's right, Tifa's party..." Judging from the noise coming from inside Seventh Heaven, the party was in full swing. "Wait, does she know I'm in the hospital?"

Zack nodded. "You had your phone with you, of course. Seventh Heaven's number is the first one on your contacts list."

"I guess it is..."

"Let's go inside." Zack suddenly strode into the bar, passing straight through the wall. After a moment's hesitation, Cloud followed. Unlike Zack, though, Cloud opted to use the door. Though they could touch objects, they still went unseen and unheard by everyone around them.

Cloud was standing by the door, taking in the sight of the lively bar; the jovial, companionable air made it seem more crowded than it was. All of his old friends were there: Barret, Yuffie, Cid and Shera, Red XIII, even Vincent. Some of the regular customers were there too; there were many bigger and fancier bars in Edge and Cloud knew that the fact that these people chose her bar meant a lot to Tifa. Cloud looked at the faces of the men who had been coming here after work for months and realized with a pang that he knew none of their names.

He was pulled rudely from his thoughts when Tifa breezed over, practically out of nowhere.

"How'd this door open?" she asked no one in particular, and stuck her hand directly through Cloud's forearm in order to close the door. He jumped despite himself.

Tifa suddenly froze and pulled her hand back, staring in Cloud's direction. He started to panic, unsure of what he should do, but then Marlene bounded over and threw her arms around Tifa's waist.

"Can't we call Cloud, pleeeease?" Marlene begged.

"No, sweetie!" Tifa laughed, trying to shake off Marlene with little success. "He's sleeping now, okay? He needs to sleep now to get better. C'mon, help me in the back room, will you?"

Marlene stopped pouting and nodded brightly, bounding after Tifa into the storeroom. "Hey, are you bringing out the good stuff?" one of the regulars – Cloud wanted to say his name was Matthew – called after Tifa.

They returned with champagne – or rather, two bottles of real champagne and a bottle of sparkling cider for Marlene and Denzel. Everybody cheered, and they cheered even louder when Tifa told them it would be on the house. She poured drinks and looked around with satisfaction at her guests and best friends – there was Cid at one of the tables in the corner, having a loud poker game with Barret, Johnny, Sylar, and Hugo. Shera sat behind him, smiling happily. Speaking of which, Red XIII looked like the epitome of contentment, curled up by the jukebox. Vincent was sitting at the bar, nursing his drink, gazing about the room with a vaguely pleased expression on his face. And Yuffie, Yuffie was bounding around the room, looking for something worth stealing on Tifa's guests and, finding nothing, going around and pestering each table in turn.

They drank to a happy new year; Marlene joined in but made a face at her first sip of the bitter cider. Denzel, on the other hand, was positively tickled at being able to imitate the adults, and eventually drained his glass.

"To Cloud," he said, holding his glass in the air with gusto. "That he gets better really fast!"

"Keh!" Yuffie spoke up. "'Gets better', my ass!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tifa asked, feeling oddly defensive.

Yuffie shrugged, suddenly aware that she might have hit a nerve. "All I'm sayin' is, it's gonna take a lot more than a nice toast to fix that guy. Didn't you say he's been a big jerk the past couple weeks, too?"

"Cloud's not a jerk!" Denzel protested loudly. "He just...doesn't have any holiday spirit, is all!"

"Denzel." Tifa put a hand on his shoulder and looked at him warningly.

In the slightly awkward pause that followed, Zack leaned over and nudged Cloud. "He's really loyal to you, huh? You're kind of his hero, you know." Cloud didn't say anything, just shrugged slightly.

"Er, hey, speaking of spirits..." Hugo broke the silence, taking a deep drink from his champagne glass. "Man, this stuff is _exxx-cellent_."

"Yeah, too bad Cloud's missing out on all the good booze!" Cid piped up raucously.

"And getting to make fun of you, you old geezer!" Yuffie interjected.

"Me!? The hell did I do!?"

"You got engaged," Barret stated, breaking into a vicious grin.

Cid scowled but Shera was positively beaming. "Aw, shaddup, we went over this already!" Cid growled, obviously embarrassed at the attention. "It ain't none of your damn business!"

Zack turned to Cloud once more and chuckled aloud at the shocked expression on his friend's face. "Cid and Shera!?" Cloud repeated dubiously. "Getting _married_?" Zack just shrugged and smiled.

"So, anybody hungry?" Tifa asked, obviously relieved that the subject had moved away from Cloud. They answered the affirmative, and she headed into the back room for some sustenance.

"Arentcha gonna sit down at all, Tifa?" Barret called after her. Tifa just shrugged in reply, continuing to bustle around and make sure everyone was well fed.

"She likes to distract herself," Cloud observed suddenly. "She's this busy only when she's upset about something." Zack grinned in reply.

"So you're not a total idiot after all, Cloud. Good observation. See, I knew there was still hope for you."

"Is she...really that upset over me?"

Zack rolled his eyes. "Okay, maybe there isn't..."

Cloud pointedly ignored Zack's last comment. "Honestly, I didn't think everybody would come. But they even managed to drag Vincent here...And Cid and Shera, I never would've seen that one coming."

"Nobody else seems near as surprised about it as you are, Cloud," Zack stated evenly. Cloud looked at him sharply.

"What are you saying?" he asked. "I...care about them, all of them."

Zack smiled a bit smugly. "Oh? Then why were you so eager to skip this party?" Cloud opened his mouth then shut it again.

"Because...because I'm not any better than I was six months ago, even after all that trouble you and Aerith and everybody else went through." Cloud clenched his fist.

Zack put his hand on Cloud's shoulder, who flinched visibly at the touch. "Cloud. I don't think you're getting the point of this holiday – it's not just presents and getting drunk. It's...starting over, y'know? It's starting over and knowing everybody's done some stupid things and everybody gets another chance every January 1st." He nodded at the happy people crowding the Seventh Heaven.

"They all lost just as much as you did, Cloud, but they can still get together and be happy, can't they?"

Cloud was silent for a moment, pondering Zack's words. He turned back to his friend, only to see he was beginning to grow transparent.

"Already time, huh?" Zack scowled and pushed Cloud out of Seventh Heaven. Cloud was surprised to see that, somehow, they were in the sprawling cemetery of Edge. There was a memorial to those who had died back when Sector 7 was crushed, and a half-finished memorial to Geostigma's victims. The mood of the place was very somber, very morose.

"What are we doing here?" Cloud asked, uneasy. He didn't like coming here – so many of the people buried here had died two years ago, in the chaos of the war against ShinRa and Meteorfall, and the less he was reminded of that the better...

Zack was breathing heavily and he sat down stiffly on a nearby stone bench. "This is where you'll meet the third ghost, the ghost of New Year's to come. I was hoping it wouldn't have to come to this, but... You almost understand, but not quite. You always were a slow learner, Cloud." Zack looked amused but Cloud just looked at him worriedly.

"You're fading..."

"Well, yeah, I am the present, aren't I? It never lasts very long. You just blink and it's gone." Suddenly Zack grew serious, and put his hand on Cloud's shoulder. "Cloud. No matter what you see in the future, no matter what the ghost tells you – there's still hope. Me and Aerith wouldn't even be here if there wasn't hope. So don't be an idiot and give up. Be strong."

_Be strong. _The words seemed to echo on the wind as Zack faded away completely. Cloud sat motionless for a moment, a little shocked and a little sad. But as before, he suddenly became aware of someone standing behind him. He turned to see a tall man – at least, he figured it was a man, he couldn't see their face – covered from head to foot by a long black robe. The figure was intimidating.

"You're the third ghost?" Cloud asked. The top of the robe moved, as if the spirit had nodded his head. But that was all the answer Cloud got.

The ghost laid a cold, thin hand on Cloud's shoulder and gave him a sharp push forward. "Okay, okay," Cloud muttered. Their surroundings melted away as before, but this time Cloud wasn't startled.

They found themselves at Seventh Heaven again, but somehow it seemed different than when he had been there with Zack.

He looked back at the cloaked spirit, who simply pointed at the building.

"Alright, alright," Cloud muttered, taking the hint and walking in through the wall. He could tell immediately the mood was much sadder and more lonesome than it had been before.

Tonight it was just Tifa and Barret, sitting alone at the bar.

"Thanks for coming," Tifa was saying, her voice soft.

Barret just shrugged. "Yeah, well, I figured-" He was interrupted by the phone ringing, and both of them seemed relieved at the distraction.

"Hello?" Tifa said a little too eagerly, gripping the receiver a little too tightly. "Hi, Yuffie... No, no, I'm fine. Barret and Marlene are here for a couple of days." She smiled and gave a weak chuckle. "Like you really need an invitation. You all just show up and demand free beer. Besides...I figured you'd be busy..." Tifa looked sad again, Barret looked awkward, and Cloud just watched, his expression serious and otherwise unreadable.

Tifa hung up. "Poor Yuffie," she murmured. "She really did care about her dad, even if she complained about him all the time."

"She's too young to be runnin' a whole damn country," Barret agreed.

Cloud nodded in agreement, even though they couldn't see him. The gloomy atmosphere had him worried. Where was...he?

Barret took a gulp from the glass he had in front of him. Tifa went to refill it, but he waved her away. "No thanks. Ain't no point in getting drunk off our asses. It won't change a damn thing."

The ensuing silence was a little too sad, so Barret cleared his throat. "You talked to Cid lately?" he asked.

"No," Tifa sighed. "Not since...Shera miscarried."

Cloud felt his stomach drop out.

"I was there," Barret muttered. "Never seen him so upset. Pacing, cussing like you wouldn't believe... And he was crying, too."

There was a dull thump as Tifa hit the counter. "What happened to us, Barret?"

The question hung uncomfortably in the air. Cloud was beginning to think he'd seen enough. He looked back, but the spirit was nowhere to be found.

"Thanks for coming," Tifa said again, this time slowly and deliberately. "You're the last...I mean... Even Vincent...went back to his damn box. He threw his cell phone away. Even Cloud...never did that."

Cloud waited with a sort of morbid curiosity for Tifa to reveal his fate, but they were interrupted by a tiny voice from upstairs: "Papa?"

Barret swallowed. "Yeah, Marlene?"

"I didn't wanna wake Denzel, but I can't sleep," came the reply. "Can you come tuck me in, Papa?"

"Sure, Marlene," Barret said, his voice thick with emotion. He slowly got to his feet and Tifa and the invisible Cloud listened to his heavy footsteps on the stairs.

Tifa suddenly began wiping the counter with ferocity. "What happened to us, Cloud?" she whispered, wiping the same spot over and over. Cloud stared at the rag in her hands, afraid to look at her face.

"I don't even know what was wrong with you, Cloud. Maybe you thought we didn't care enough. We just...we just wanted you to work things through on your own." She smiled dryly. "I wonder what you would've said if you'd known how much we talked about you. It wasn't always good things; it was usually things like 'why is he so selfish?' and 'why can't he just try?', but we talked about you all the time." She dropped the rag and buried her face in her hands, propping her elbows on the counter.

"I guess that's why, then. That's why everything fell apart after you died."

Cloud wasn't surprised. He swallowed and tried to say her name.

"That one New Year's Eve, you got into that accident, and we all thought maybe you'd slow down after that, but you just went faster and faster on that stupid motorcycle...Why did you have to be such an idiot?!" Tifa burst out, beginning to sob. But then she looked straight at Cloud without realizing it, her eyes filled with tears, and said softly, "Or maybe, you're happier dead."

"No!" Cloud shouted, "Tifa, I'm not dead yet! And I wouldn't be happy dead, not if it made you...made you suffer this much!"

He stepped back and looked wildly around the room. "Did you hear that?" he called. "I don't want her to suffer, and if that means I have to stay alive and let people bother me for donations, then fine!"

Tifa was still crying, and Cloud was getting angrier and angrier. He strode purposefully out of the bar, to confront the ghost outside. To his surprise, he found himself not standing on the street outside of Seventh Heaven, but back in the huge cemetery. The ghost towered over him. Refusing to be intimidated, Cloud squared himself and looked straight at the apparition.

"Didn't you hear me?" Cloud demanded. "I'm through with this, take me back!"

In response, the specter merely pointed at a spot behind Cloud. Cloud turned on his heel and saw the ghost was gesturing towards a small headstone. Cloud turned back to the ghost, growing uneasy. "Why aren't you taking me back? I've learned my lesson. I'll try again, I'll try to be better..."

The phantom did not move, just continued to point. Finally, Cloud stepped cautiously over to the gravestone.

Kneeling before it, he saw it was his own.

"Why!?" he shouted, knowing the spirit was standing over him. "Why are you showing me this? I will try, if this is what will happen if I don't! I want to live, I...Damn it, why won't you say anything!?"

It was totally silent for a moment, save for Cloud's somewhat ragged breathing. Then: "You're pathetic, Cloud."

Cloud felt his heart skip a beat. Slowly he got to his feet.

"That's right, stand and face me."

Cloud turned and found himself face-to-face with Sephiroth, shrugging off the long black cape. His insides felt cold but Cloud refused to be afraid, remembering Zack's words and Tifa's tears. He had to get home. He _had_ to.

"Let me go, Sephiroth."

In response, Sephiroth held out Masamune. "You will fight me."

Cloud saw his own Buster Sword lying on the ground at his feet. He did not bother to question where it came from, merely picked it up and held it at the ready. "Fine."

They sprang into motion at the exact same moment, each with the same level of confidence that they could defeat the other. There was no doubt that Cloud had come a long way since the first time he faced Sephiroth.

Their blades crossed and they were locked into position. Cloud felt his heels digging into the soft earth. Gritting his teeth, he gave one mighty shove.

Instantly, he was surrounded by blackness. There was nothing – he couldn't see or hear or feel anything. It was much like the space he'd walked through with Aerith. "So you can teach a pathetic dog new tricks," Sephiroth's voice echoed around him, then disappeared completely.

"You called me pathetic already!" Cloud called, his heart pounding in his ears. He had no idea how to get out of this place. "I'd like to wake up now..." He broke into a run, struggling to keep his balance in this strange vacuum. He stumbled and felt his stomach drop out as he began to fall, but then he felt someone grab both his hands and pull him back up. Or two someones, as the two hands holding his belonged to different people.

"You did it, Cloud!" he heard Aerith say from somewhere nearby.

"Yup, I knew you had it in you," Zack added.

There was a light up ahead, and Cloud once again had to shut his eyes to block it out. "Thank you," he muttered, as the light washed over him.

* * *

"Well, you're very welcome, dearie!" 

Cloud blinked a few times, forcing his tired eyes open. "Mm...?" A chubby nurse hovering over him, taking his vital signs, came into focus.

"Haha, you're finally awake!"

Gradually Cloud became aware of his surroundings – same hospital room, same hospital bed, only now daylight was streaming in.

"What day is it?" he asked hoarsely, slowly sitting up.

"It's New Year's Day, Mr. Strife!" the nurse told him cheerfully.

Then it had all been in one night. Then... "So I'm not too late, then," Cloud said suddenly. "Of course it was all in one night, they're dead, they can screw around with time..."

"Now, now, Mr. Strife, don't get too excited," the nurse patted his shoulder. "You just rest and I'll go call your friend Tifa!" With that she bustled out.

"Quit calling me 'Mr. Strife'," Cloud muttered under his breath.

* * *

Tifa burst in at nine o'clock on the morning, wrapped in her winter coat and her favorite red scarf. "Cloud!" She strode over to the bed and stopped short of throwing her arms around him, which he was grateful for. 

A little embarrassed now, Tifa sat on the edge of Cloud's bed. "You know, if you didn't have a concussion, I'd throw you down the stairs for pulling a stunt like that."

Cloud smiled.

"Hey, I'm not kidding!" But she looked relieved to see him smile all the same.

"Yeah, I know." Any awkwardness dissolved in that moment.

"I talked to the doctor," Tifa continued brightly. "You're okay, if you want to go home. I figured you'd be eager to get out of here."

Cloud nodded gratefully. "Oh, but everybody spent the night last night," Tifa said suddenly. "So it's a bit noisy back home. I could tell them to keep it down or kick 'em out or..."

"Seeing everybody sounds nice," Cloud said firmly. Once again, Tifa looked ready to throw her arms around his neck.

"Then I'll go tell the doctor-" Tifa jumped to her feet, but stopped short when Cloud grabbed her hand.

"I just wanted to say..." he began awkwardly. "I'm sorry for the way I've been acting. I was a selfish jerk."

Tifa smiled brilliantly. "What the heck's come over you, Cloud?" Cloud just shrugged in reply.

"Let's just say... I had a really vivid dream last night."

* * *

They were walking down the hallway out of the hospital when something occurred to Cloud. "How are we getting home, anyway?" 

"Cid drove me up here. We took his truck."

And something else occurred to Cloud.

"Tifa...where's Fenrir?"

"...Um..."

"...Is it bad?"

Tifa nodded slowly. "The guy who found you on the highway, he had it towed and, well, it got pretty banged up."

"Is it fixable?" Cloud sighed.

"Hey, I don't know anything about motorcycles. You can just take a look when we get home, okay?" She ducked her head to hide the slight smile on her face. Cloud didn't notice, since they'd reached the hospital exit. He was disappointed about his bike, but he was eager to get home. Away from the hospital.

And away from the weird nurse who kept calling him annoying pet names.

"So, congratulations about you and Shera," Cloud said as they climbed into Cid's truck. He said it politely enough, but anyone who knew Cloud would be able to catch the teasing in his voice.

"Aw, why the hell did ya have to tell him about that, Tifa!" Cid grumbled.

Tifa did not reply at first, just looked over at Cloud in wonder. "I...didn't tell him about that."

The truck grew completely silent, and the corners of Cloud's mouth quirked up. Tifa recalled what he'd said earlier – a very vivid dream – and she wondered if...

But the idea was too far-fetched and Tifa was too down-to-earth to consider it seriously.

* * *

Cid, Tifa, and Cloud walked into Seventh Heaven, and the place practically exploded. 

"CLOUD!" Denzel and Marlene both shot over and hugged him around the middle. Tifa laughed and Cid grumped about being stuck in the doorway and everybody needing to 'just calm the heck down already'.

"Aw, man!" Yuffie shouted. Cloud looked up to see her balanced precariously on the bar's counter, struggling to hang up a banner that read "Welcome back Cloud". Upon closer inspection he saw it was made of folded napkins.

"I woulda had it done by the time he got here if you two woulda helped me instead of sitting on your lazy asses laughing at me!" Yuffie shouted, glaring at Barret and Red XIII, who, indeed, looked rather amused.

"Ugh!" Yuffie waved her arms indignantly and would've pitched right off the counter had Vincent not reached out and steadied her with his good hand.

Suddenly Denzel and Marlene were pulling him in the bar, laughing and chattering. "Can I show him the surprise, Tifa?" Denzel was asking. "Pleeeease?"

Then suddenly they were pulling him through the back room and out to the small garage where Cloud normally kept his bike. Marlene flung open the door to reveal Fenrir, parked in the garage, as good as new. And it even had a fresh coat of wax.

Cloud just stared at it confusion. "I thought...Tifa said it was all banged up..."

"It _was_," Cid boomed from behind him, "'cept I was here, so I thought I'd fix it up for you, you ungrateful ass!"

"I, uh... thank you." Cloud wasn't sure what else to say. He'd been selfish and rude lately, and yet they all still came together to wish him well. He found himself thinking of what his mother had told him – _all I know is there are people out there who would love to be friends with you. _She'd been right, as mothers often are.

"This is getting too damn sappy, I say we eat!" Cid exclaimed.

"Yeah, where's breakfast!?" Barret hollered from back in the bar.

Cloud turned back to see Tifa give a long-suffering sigh, but she was smiling all the same. "You people are pigs," she said. "Come on, Shera, let's see what we can whip up!" The two trooped cheerfully into the kitchen, the rest of the group hot on their heels.

Cloud paused for a moment, deep in thought, and then decided he could brood some other time. For now, he was going to enjoy New Year's with his family.

* * *

_"Think he's okay now?"_

"_Yep." _

"_You don't think that we were too hard on him?" _

"_Nah. He's a tough guy, Aerith. Though that third ghost, **that** was freaky. How'd you pull that one off?" _

_She shrugs. "I took every negative feeling in the Lifestream and kind of...channeled it, if you will. It's not my fault it took the form of Sephiroth!" _

_He nods. "Ah, well that makes sense, then." _

"_How do you mean?" _

"_Aerith. C'mon. Every negative thing ever, Cloud associates with Sephiroth." _

"_...True..." _

"_Still, alls well that ends well, I guess." He puts his arm around his partner-in-crime and kisses her on the forehead. "Mission accomplished. And Happy New Year, Aerith."_

_She smiles prettily. "Happy New Year, Zack."_

* * *

A/N: Couldn't resist sticking in a bit of Zack/Aerith at the end there. Did you _see _them in that Crisis Core trailer? So cute. 

Anyway, I can't believe I met my deadline of Christmas Eve. This was a really, really difficult story to write and I'm feeling quite pleased with myself for doing so. XD But anyway, happy holidays and God bless!

-CC


End file.
